Chapter 6231: Chicago Memories (2)

The process of going to the freshman registration was smooth, and the procedures went well. However, he and Eric parted ways on the way to the dormitory because they weren’t assigned to the same dormitory building. Eric was assigned to a new building closer to the cafeteria, while Bruce was in an old dormitory near the library.

Based on the map in his memory, he walked to a red-roofed foreign-style building. The entire structure looked quite old and was filled with a retro charm. It’s imaginable that there wouldn’t be any modern facilities, and the living conditions wouldn’t be great, but the location was excellent, right in the center of the campus, not far from any part of the old campus.

Inside the corridor, the decoration was indeed very retro. The walls were off-white with dark brown wainscoting, even the wall lights were those round retro-style bulbs, and the stairs were wooden. Bruce was assigned to a double room, but his roommate hadn’t arrived yet—maybe stuck in traffic.

Bruce carried his luggage up the narrow stairs, then walked through the corridor to his dormitory door. When he opened the door, he realized that the dormitory not only lacked air conditioning but also had cabinets from the last century, made of heavy walnut wood, as were the bed frames.

Fortunately, the mattress was already prepared, and it felt reasonably soft when he sat down. Bruce began to make his bed, and before he had finished unpacking, he heard a commotion next door. In such an old building, the soundproofing was poor, which he was aware of, but he didn’t pay much attention until the noise grew louder.

It seems he was overly worried about the no-fighting rule on campus, Bruce thought. Classes haven’t even started, and someone is already on the verge of a fight. He felt compelled to go out and take a look.

Bruce only cracked his door open a little to peek outside, though this didn’t allow for much visibility, but it did make the sounds clearer. Then he heard words like “freak,” “lunatic,” “ridiculous,” and shortly after, someone stormed out and slammed the door.

Bruce watched as the person walked in his direction. He considered closing the door and pretending not to be there, but the person had already noticed the open door. Bruce had no choice but to open it and ask, “What’s going on?”

“Sorry, could we swap rooms?” he said. “I really can’t stand my roommate anymore, he’s just a madman, I don’t know how he manages to be so obnoxious…”

Bruce didn’t think much of it; conflicts in university dormitories are common. However, he couldn’t switch rooms, he said, “I’m a freshman, just moved in.”

“So am I, we’re all freshmen on this floor,” the other person said. “Since we haven’t fully moved in yet, it’s still possible to switch.”

Bruce was a bit speechless; because your roommate is difficult, you want to switch rooms with me? Do I look like I’m easy to push around?

He was about to refuse when he saw the door from which the person had come out open, and a head poked out. “Willie swimming in a heap of crap! If you don’t take your filthy luggage out, I’ll hang them on the school’s bulletin board for everyone to see…”

The freshman named Willie stormed back, ready to throw a punch, but Bruce quickly rushed over to hold him back. Fighting isn’t an option; besides, the building is so old, if you punch the door, it might just collapse.

Bruce pushed the person aside, opened the door, wanting to see who was having the argument. The person inside seemed equally curious why his roommate didn’t burst in, turned around, and two pairs of blue eyes met each other.

“Tony Stark?!”

“Bruce Wayne?!!”

Both called out each other’s name at the same time. The freshman named Willie was relieved and said loudly: “So you two know each other! Perfect, switch to be together! Let me live alone!”

With that, he rushed in, threw another piece of luggage out, and even pushed the person out. Bruce looked at Tony Stark standing at the door, feeling a bit shocked. It wasn’t that he was surprised to see him here, mainly it was the fact that Tony Stark looked like this in his younger days.

Possibly because when Iron Man appeared in his view, he was already in the image of a middle-aged man, Bruce had never seen a young Iron Man. It’s undeniable that young Stark looked indeed different. He was very thin, wearing black-rimmed glasses, a bit like a bookworm, completely unlike the playboy he would later become.

Stark adjusted his glasses, looking at Bruce, said, “What are you doing here? Isn’t this a test run?”

“Brainiac sent me an invitation,” Bruce didn’t hide anything and said, “But he just told me to report to this university, didn’t specify what exactly to test. Which universe’s Iron Man are you?”

“From the Prime Universe,” Stark said, “But it was the former Prime Universe, now it’s called the Fusion Universe.”

Bruce slightly widened his eyes: “You came back?”

“Not yet,” Stark shook his head and said, “Didn’t Brainiac tell you? The server is built in another universe. Anyway, it’s not important, other than you who else is here?”

“No one else for now,” Bruce paused for a moment, “But there should be more soon.”

“Is it another Batman?”

“How did you know?”

“You don’t have the best reputation among the Batman group,” Stark folded his arms and walked towards the room, “Based on the timeline, you should be being hunted down.”

“You know me?” Bruce followed him, feeling a bit curious about the question.

“You’re quite famous,” Stark remembered to return to get his luggage, he seemed somewhat clumsy, clearly not used to doing these things, but he eventually got his luggage into the room and let out a long sigh of relief.

“You’re not far behind,” Bruce said, “The fact that Brainiac managed to roll out the test version so quickly, you deserve a lot of credit. But why did you get into a conflict with that Willie?”

“Why even ask why?” Stark rolled his eyes, “Dorm life is like this; you can dislike someone for any reason. Besides, I’ve always been a freak, no matter where I am.”

Bruce was a bit surprised; he really didn’t expect Iron Man to be like this. Stark didn’t pay attention to Bruce’s gaze; he just turned around and said, “You’d never guess what Brainiac brought us here to do. Do you know whose alma mater the University of Chicago is?”

“There’s a lot of them,” Bruce said, “I’ve heard they’ve produced a hundred Nobel laureates and quite a few presidents. Are you referring to them?”

“Of course not,” Stark said excitedly, “This is Schiller Rodriguez’s alma mater.”

Bruce was taken aback: “Isn’t Professor Shearer’s alma mater Columbia University?”

“Where did you hear that?” Stark was a bit puzzled too, “How could his alma mater be Columbia? Didn’t he do his undergrad elsewhere, not in New York?”

“Columbia University isn’t in New York either; it’s in Metropolis, isn’t it?” Bruce thought for a moment, then said, “Oh, maybe in your universe, it’s in New York, but here it’s in Metropolis.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Stark said, “I’m referring to the time before he came to our universe, long ago, the past that even Brainiac couldn’t investigate.”

Bruce slightly widened his eyes, then showed a look of realization. From the previous compressed file of gossip from Anatoli and Lucifer, it was somewhat clear how Anatoli and Shearer traveled between the two universes. But that file only mentioned Anatoli’s situation over here and didn’t touch on the other universe at all.

But clearly, both Anatoli and Shearer lived in that universe, and Shearer was also a professor in the original universe. This is a past that no one knows about, and Shearer doesn’t want to mention it. He must have his reasons, and no one deliberately probes. But did he actually tell Brainiac?

Bruce raised his own doubt. Stark shook his head, saying, “It’s very likely he isn’t unwilling to tell; it’s just that you didn’t ask. Anything I asked, he would tell.”

“I’m just puzzled; he could have told you directly. Why let Brainiac simulate his past? What’s the point?”

“Probably just for testing purposes,” Stark said, “You always need a theme; using his memory makes no difference. But I feel like Brainiac threw us in here with ill intentions. Eventually, he can painlessly learn Shearer’s past, and we’ll be the ones to get beaten up.”

“Beaten up?” Bruce was a little surprised, “Why would we be beaten up? The professor can’t directly hit the students, right?”

“What professor? He’s also a student! Did you forget? I just said the University of Chicago is his alma mater, and he did his undergrad here.”

“That can’t be right,” Bruce questioned, “Wasn’t he living in China in his previous life? Shouldn’t he have attended university in China?”

“That I don’t know,” Stark said, “It’s possible he applied to both at the same time and just chose to study in America, or maybe he was an exchange student.”

Then Stark gently probed, “What do you think his temperament was like when he was young? He shouldn’t give us a hard time, right?”

Bruce hesitated, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and finally squeezed out, “Then you’d better be prepared to get beaten up.”

“What’s really going on, you better clarify,” Stark evidently had his curiosity peak.

“As far as I know,” Bruce paused, “Young Shearer wasn’t that normal.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the one we see now is considered normal.”

A big question mark appeared on Stark’s face.

“I can’t say my statement is entirely accurate,” Bruce was still cautious, “But when Shearer was young, what primarily controlled his personality was his morbid side, and his morbidity was… quite morbid.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Stark, being immune to mental disturbances, said, “What about his temper? If we approach him, he shouldn’t find us bothersome, right?”

Bruce’s hand paused, realizing that if they entered Shearer’s past memory, he wouldn’t recognize them, and he suddenly had the urge to quit the game.

Bruce reluctantly said, “If you’re going to approach him, go ahead, but don’t involve me. I don’t want to get beaten up.”

“Would he really hit someone?” Stark made an exaggerated expression, “Before I came in, Greed told me to be cautious, suggesting not to provoke him. But I’m here to figure out what happened in this past. How could I not interact with the protagonist?”

Bruce took a slight step back: “I think the primary task of studying is to study well, but if you really want to go, then go ahead.”

Then he added silently to himself: Anyway, Chicago isn’t as congested as Gotham, and the police won’t take longer to arrive.